Judge agrees to review cop's file

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

The attorney for a man charged with murder has accused a Palatine police detective of improperly influencing witnesses, prompting a Cook County circuit judge to agree Thursday to review the detective's disciplinary file.

Attorney Jeffrey Urdangen declined to say how the detective had influenced witnesses to implicate his client, Joe Stock, 27, of Elk Grove Village.

Stock is charged with first-degree murder in the 1997 death of his ex-girlfriend, Connie Wagner, 20. Trial is set for Sept. 3.

In a letter to Judge Thomas P. Fecarotta, Urdangen wrote that the detective "actively concealed contacts with witnesses which, if revealed, would undermine the credibility of those witnesses."

Urdangen said he did not know what information the detective's file contained, but he asked the judge to review it for similar allegations that could establish a pattern of improper conduct.

Assistant State's Atty. Scott Cassidy said the allegations were unfounded.

He said the detective has a clean record and handled the case properly.

Wagner's body was found June 20, 1997, on a couch in the basement of her family's home in Palatine. Police said she was stabbed more than 180 times. Stock was charged in February 2001.

Stock is being held in Cook County Jail in lieu of $1 million bail. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14.